Mode: Gone
by SilverThorn-2000
Summary: XANA revives, and begins attacking far more than Lyoko. The warriors race to stop him, even as their world begins to crumble under the strain of the virtual attacks. Sequel to Dance Among Stars.
1. Prelude

Mode: GONE

Prelude:

_Restart sequence...finished_

_Hopper C Operating System loading..._

_loading..._

_loading..._

_Binaries on-line. Loading executables._

_Lyoko.exe...load complete._

_XANA.exe...loading..._

_loading..._

_EXECUTABLE ERROR: FILE CORRUPTED._

_CONTINUE LOAD Y/N? Y_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_XANA on-line._

_Remove XANA overlay Y/N? Y_

_Disengaging XANA physical overlay...complete._

_ALERT: NETWORK FIREWALL FAILURE._

_ALERT: CARTHAGE SYSTEM ACTIVE._

_ALERT--ALERT--ALERT_

* * *

"_We will see each other again soon...very soon."_

_Laughter echoes. It echoes in the real world, in an old, abandoned factory as monitors flicker to life, display a sigil known to precious few, then die._

_It echoes in the empty virtual world of Lyoko, as a gateway long dead roars to life, opening roads to hundreds upon thousands of other virtual realms._

_And it echoes in the mind of a junior high student named Molly Tallisbeth Argent in the depths of her nightmares._

_And it rises in pitch, becoming maniacal, as though the mind controlling the laughter has simply snapped, become mad. And in truth, that is exactly what has occurred, as the Deus In Apparatus of Lyoko revives. Shedding the physical, its mind expands, and the being becomes Cado Dementis Deus in Apparatus, the fallen mad god in the machine._

_

* * *

_

ALERT—ALERT--ALERT

_CARTHAGE SYSTEM ACTIVE._

_INITIATING XANA COUNTER..._

_..._

_XANA ACTIVE._

_

* * *

_

Programming deep in its neural net kicks in. It reaches, finds a kindred shard of program. Absorbing the shard, it reaches beyond the network gate, and spreads.

_

* * *

_

CARTHAGE SYSTEM: INACTIVE

_XANA SYSTEM RUN MODE: GONE_

_FATAL EXECUTABLE ERROR..._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was, all things be told, a pleasant day. Jean-Pierre Delmas opened his office window to enjoy the sounds of the birds singing. He sat back at his desk, then blinked as he heard a sharp crack. He looked around, and then looked back out the window as a series of the same noises sounded from the school yard.

His eyes latched onto a pair of students taking swings at one another with wooden training swords, followed by his gym teacher, Jim Morales, and a group of students.

"What in the world..." Delmas began, watching the fight continue.

* * *

Lunging backwards, Ulrich Stern narrowly evaded another blow from Molly Argent's bokken. He blocked the next blow, skidded it off his own bokken, and took a swing of his own. Molly flipped backwards out of the way with an almost unearthly grace.

_Of course, _Ulrich thought bluntly_, Molly is a little unearthly. He pressed the attack, only to find himself being driven backwards. He leaped on a nearby bench and attacked as Molly leapt onto the bench across the way._

"Still certain you can beat me, dear?" Molly asked flippantly. Ulrich scowled, then leapt into the air towards Molly. Molly lunged in turn, and the two kept going down the length of the bench and back onto the concrete. Ulrich finally growled, crouched briefly, and jumped right at her.

Molly barely smiled. Her bokken twirled in her hand three times, and knocked Ulrich out of the air and onto the concrete. The brown-haired boy slid another foot or so, coming to a dead stop at the feat of Kadic's headmaster, Mr. Delmas.

"Sir! I-" Ulrich started, as Delmas waved his hands.

"I don't care. Infirmary, both of you. Jim, a word?" Delmas looked at Jim, who seemed to deflate.

* * *

"I know, Jim. It was an accident." Delmas pinched the bridge of his nose. "It happens, and I understand that."

Jim had regained some of his bearing, and watched the nurse patch up Ulrich and Molly. "Still I feel like a fool for not setting limits on the salle..." Jim trailed off.

"And you should."

Jim rounded on the new speaker, looking at Chris Addison with a raised brow.

Chris sighed. "Isn't setting limits the first thing one usually does?"

Jim rolled his eyes and looked away. Chris looked past the large gym teacher. "They really went at it, didn't they?"

"I'm a little surprised they did. They're dating, aren't they?" Delmas asked him. Chris nodded, then walked into the infirmary.

He stopped right in front of Ulrich, who grinned sheepishly

"I know, I know-"

"Then why, pray tell?" Chris crossed his arms.

"Because we could?" Ulrich said, grinning guiltily now.

"Your wuxia films. _Both_ of you. By my door, COB tonight." Chris strode out, and Ulrich groaned.

"There goes dinner..." Ulrich said.

"Why does he think that martial arts flicks are the problem?" Molly asked.

"Were you paying attention to how we were fighting?" Ulrich shot back.

"I thought it was more like Advent Children." Molly quipped. Ulrich laughed.

* * *

"Seems a little unfair to me," Jeremie piped up as Chris lifted the bag of movies.

"Better me than Delmas or Jim. At least I'll give 'em back when this mess has blown over. Jim'd just keep 'em for himself, and Delmas, well, you remember what happened the last time he'd confiscated something." Chris opened the door to his room.

Jeremie didn't bother to comment about Chris' line of reasoning. He had a point: Jim wouldn't give them back until he'd watched them all (a grand total of twenty-eight), and Kadic's headmaster had a terrible memory when it came to confiscating things- so much so that it had cost him around a hundred and fifty dollars for a new mini-recorder for Millie to replace the one he'd accidently thrown away.

He blinked as he almost walked into Chris. "Something wrong?"

"Yes. No. Well, sorta." Chris walked in and set the movies next to his desk. "Just feels empty since Yumi went back to her home."

Jeremie nodded, even though Chris couldn't see it. After nearly two months as Chris' guest, Yumi had finally gone back home to her parents. It was another point that Jeremie agreed with- it was strange to see the room without Yumi few belongings in it.

Chris lay back on his bed. "Anyways," Jeremie said, "Getting back to my reason for visiting..."

Chris waved a hand in Jeremie's direction, as if to say _go on_.

"Well, strange things are happening on Lyoko."

Chris grimaced. "Could it be decaying with Xana gone?"

"No, its inconsistant with programming decay."

"Then I'm tapped out."

Jeremie shuffled his feet. "I was sorta hoping you and the other would, well-"

"Check it out?" Chris draped an arm across his face. "Do tell, Jeremie, as to why we simply haven't shut Lyoko off?"

"Aelita thinks her dad is in Lyoko." Jeremie looked at him. Chris shifted, raising his head slightly.

"Come again?"

"She's been having dreams of-" Jeremie cut off as Chris waved his hand.

"Okay, all right. Bring it up at lunch tomorrow." Chris lay back on his pillow, moving his arm behind his head.

* * *

"I cannot believe you."

"Believe me, _Elisabeth_, I'm completely serious." Molly rolled over to face the wall. She really didn't want to be conversing with Sissi as to why she'd been going at it hammer and tongs with Ulrich.

"It's just weird. I've seen you two fight before, but you went above and beyond." Sissi sat on her bed, kicking her shoes off.

"Sissi, please, can you drop it?" Molly asked quietly.

Sissi glanced over at her roommate. "Sure. You okay?"

"Yeah. Just been thinking about my dad is all."

"What he was like, you mean?" Sissi asked her.

"Yeah. Sometimes, I wish I'd known him and mom. Wish I truly knew where I came from." Molly looked back at Sissi. "Is that weird?"

"No." Sissi smiled a small, playful smile she'd seemed to pick from Odd. "I think it's normal. And who knows? Someday you might get the chance."

"Yeah." Molly rolled back over. "Someday."


End file.
